Scottish clans Guide, Meaning , Facts, Information and Description
Scottish clans give a sense of Scottish Highland identity and shared descent both to people in Scotland and to their relations throughout the world, with a formal structure of Clan Chiefs officially registered with the court of the Lord Lyon, King of Arms which controls the heraldry and Coat of arms. Each clan has its own tartan patterns, and men identifying with the clan can wear kilts of the appropriate tartan as a badge of membership and as a uniform where appropriate.Clans identify with geographical areas originally controlled by the Chiefs, usually with an ancestral castle, and clan gatherings form a regular part of the social scene.
| Table of contents |
|
2 The clan system 3 Nineteenth century revival 4 Lowland clans 5 Clan lists and maps 6 Sources 7 External link 8 See also |
Origins of the clans
The word clann in Gaelic means family or children. Each clan was a large group of geographically-related people, originally an extended family, supposedly descended from one progenitor, and all owing allegiance to the patriarchal clan chief. It also included a large group of loosely-related septs – related families or outside groups, all of whom looked to the clan chief as their head – and for their protection.
Some clans such as Campbell and MacDonald claim ancient Celtic mythological progenitors mentioned in the Fenian cycle, with a group including Macsween, Lamont and Macneill tracing their ancestry back to the 5th century High King of Ireland. Others such as McKinnon and McGregor claim descent from the Scots King Kenneth Mac Alpin who made himself King of the Picts in 843, founding the Kingdom known as Alba. The Macdonalds and MacDougall s claim descent from the hybrid Viking / Gael Lord of the Isles related to Norse settlers in the west coast and islands.
The clans emerged from the turmoil of the 12th century and 13th century when the Scottish crown pacified northern rebellions and re-conquered areas taken by the Norse, and after the fall of Macbeth the crown became increasingly Anglo / Norman. This turmoil created opportunities for Celtic, Norse / Gael and British warlords with their kin to dominate areas, and the instability of the Wars of Scottish Independence brought in warlords with Anglo-Norman, Anglian and Flemish ancestry, founding clans such as the Camerons, Frasers, Chisholms, Menzies and Grants.
The clan system
The Scottish clan system incorporated the Celtic / Norse traditions of heritage as well as the Norman feudal system. Gaelic Alba was ruled by chieftains and petty kings under the suzerainty of a High King, with all such offices being filled by election by an assembly. Usually the candidate was nominated by the current office holder on the approach of death, and his heir-elect was known as the tanist, from the Gaelic tanaiste, or second, with the system being known as tanistry. This system combined a hereditary element with the consent of those ruled, and while the succession in clans later followed the feudal rule of primogeniture, the concept of authority coming from the clan continued.
Thus the collective heritage of the clan, the duthchas, gave the right to settle the land to which the chiefs and leading gentry provided protection and authority as trustees for the people. This was combined with the complementary concept of oighreachd where the chieftain's authority came from charters granted by the feudal Scottish crown, where individual heritage was warranted from above. While duthchas held precedence in the medieval period, the balance shifted as Scots law became increasingly important in shaping the structure of clanship.
By the 18th century all land was owned by the chiefs, some of the most powerful of whom held large swathes of the Highlands and had autonomy over matters of law and order within their territory. In return for clansmen's loyalty and allegiance in battle or conflict with other clans, the chief would give his protection and local justice.
The clan system survived more or less intact until the dismantling of the clans following the Battle of Culloden in 1746. To crush Jacobitism the government imposed upon the Scottish Highland clans the Act of Proscription and further measures restricting their ability to bear arms, traditional dress, culture and even music, and the Heritable Jurisdictions Act which removed the feudal authority the Clan Chieftains had enjoyed. The clan chiefs increasingly became landlords, incorporated into the British aristocracy and looking to the clan lands to provide suitable income.
Nineteenth century revival
Soon after the Dress Act restricting kilt wearing was repealed in 1782, Highland aristocrats set up Highland Societies in Edinburgh and other centres including London and Aberdeen, landowners' clubs with aims including "Improvements" (which others would call the Highland clearances). Later clubs like the Celtic Society of Edinburgh included Highland chieftains and lowlanders taking an interest in the clans.
In 1815 the Highland Society of Londonbegan the naming and registration of official clan tartans.
The early 19th century revival of interest in the clans was due in no small part to the writings of James Macpherson then Sir Walter Scott and to the heraldry of the visit of King George IV to Scotland in 1822, both of which contributed to a reawakening of Scottish culture and pride.
However, the romantic notion of Scottish tartans and the clans from which they are supposed to derive owes much more to this nineteenth century revival than to the historic clans. In truth, the plaids worn by Highland Scots bore little resemblance to today's so-called "traditional" tartans which are claimed to represent the clans. And the wearing of the tailored kilt, so beloved of Scotophiles the world over, is a relatively recent innovation.
For further detail see the Clan tartan section of Tartan.
Lowland clans
The central and southern Lowlands had been Brythonic Celtic, with the south east coming under the Angles, then by 1034 Alba had expanded to bring the whole area under Gaelic Celtic rule. From 1124 King David I began the spread of Scots to the whole of the Lowlands, while the Highlands remained Gaelic under the Clan System. The term clan was still being used of Lowland families at the end of the 16th century, and while aristocrats may have been increasingly likely to use the word family the terms remained interchangeable until the 19th century.
By the late 18th century the Lowlands were integrated into the British system, with an uneasy relationship to the Highland outlaws, then with the revival of interest in Gaeldom and the visit of King George IV to Scotland in 1822 there was a new enthusiasm for identification with the Highlands. As a result many Lowland families and aristocrats now appear on clan lists with their own clan tartans, in some cases with a claim to ancestry from the Highland area.
Clan lists and maps
The revival of interest and demand for clan ancestry has led to the production of lists and maps covering the whole of Scotland purporting to give clan names and show the appropriate tartans. This has been complicated by the early weavers such as William Wilson & Sons of Bannockburn giving tartan setts inventive names such as the "Robin Hood" and "Jenny Geddes" tartans, and by the acceptability of modern military and corporate tartans. While some clan maps confine their area to the Highlands (as shown on the map above), others also show Lowland clans.
| Clan | Chief | Motto | Background |
| Agnew | Sir Crispin Agnew of Lochnaw, 11th Bt. | Consilio non impetu | |
| Anstruther | Sir Ralph Anstruther of that Ilk, 7th and 12th Bt. | Periissem ni periissem | |
| Arbuthnott | John Campbell Arbuthnott, 16th Viscount of Arbuthnott | Laus Deo | |
| Barclay | Peter Barclay of Towie Barclay and of that Ilk | Aut agere aut mori | |
| Borthwick | John Hugh Borthwick of that Ilk, 24th Lord Borthwick | Qui conducit | |
| Boyd | Alastair Ivor Gilbert Boyd, 7th Baron Kilmarnock | Confido | |
| Boyle | Patrick Robin Archibald Boyle, 10th Earl of Glasgow | Dominus providebit | |
| Brodie | Ninian Brodie of Brodie | Unite | |
| Bruce | Andrew Douglas Alexander Thomas Bruce, 11th Earl of Elgin | Fuimus | |
| Buchan | David Buchan of Auchmacoy | Non inferiora secutus | |
| Buchanan | Unknown | Clarior hinc Honos | |
| Burnett | J. Burnett of Leys | Virescit vulnere virtus | |
| Cameron | Sir Donald Cameron of Lochiel | Aonaibh ri cheile | |
| Campbell | Torquhil Ian Campbell, 13th Duke of Argyll | Ne obliviscaris | |
| Carmichael | Richard Carmichael of Carmichael | Tout jour prest | |
| Carnegie | James George Alexander Bannerman Carnegie, 3rd Duke of Fife | Dred God | |
| Cathcart | Charles Alan Andrew Cathcart, 7th Earl Cathcart | I hope to speed | |
| Charteris | Francis David Charteris, 12th Earl of Wemyss | This is our charter | |
| Clan Chattan | M. Mackintosh of Clan Chattan | Touch not the cat but a glove | |
| Chisholm | Hamish Chisholm of Chisholm | Feros ferio | |
| Cochrane | Iain Alexander Douglas Blair Cochrane, 15th Earl of Dundonald | Virtute et labore | |
| Colquhoun | Sir Ivar Colquhoun of Luss, Bt. | Si je puis | |
| Cranstoun | David Cranstoun of that Ilk | Thou shalt want ere I want | |
| Crichton | Maitland Makgill Crichton of that Ilk | God send grace | |
| Cumming | Sir William Cumming of Altyre, Bt. | Courage | |
| Darroch | Duncan Darroch of Gourock | Be watchfull | |
| Davidson | Duncan Davidson of Davidston | Sapienter si sincere | |
| Dewar | Kenneth Dewar of that Ilk and Vogrie | Quid non pro patria | |
| Douglas | Unknown | Jamais arriere | |
| Drummond | John Eric Drummond, 9th Earl of Perth | Virtutem coronat honos | |
| Dunbar | Sir James Dunbar of Mochrum, 14th Bt. | In promptu | |
| Dundas | David Dundas of Dundas | Essayez | |
| Durie | Raymond Durie of Durie | Confido | |
| Eliott | Margaret Eliott of Redheugh | Fortiter et recte | |
| Erskine | James Thorne Erskine, 14th Earl of Mar and 16th Earl of Kellie | Je pense plus | |
| Farquharson | A. Farquharson of Invercauld | Fide et fortitudine | |
| Fergusson | Sir Charles Fergusson of Kilkerran, 9th Bt. | Dulcius ex asperis | |
| Forbes | Nigel Ivan Forbes, 23rd Lord Forbes | Grace me guide | |
| Forsyth | Alistair Forsyth of that Ilk | Instaurator ruinae | |
| Fraser | Flora Marjory Fraser, Lady Saltoun (21st in line) | All my hope is in God | |
| Fraser of Lovat | Simon Fraser, 16th Lord Lovat | Je suis prest | |
| Gayre | R. Gayre of Gayre and Nigg | Super astra spero | |
| Gordon | Granville Charles Gomer Gordon, 13th Marquess of Huntly | Bydand | |
| Graham | James Graham, 8th Duke of Montrose | Ne oublie | |
| Grant | James Patrick Trevor Grant of Grant, 6th Baron Strathspey | Stand fast | |
| Grierson | Sir Michael Grierson of Lag, Bt. | Hoc securior | |
| Gunn | Unknown | Aut pax aut bellum | |
| Haig | George Alexander Eugene Douglas Haig, 2nd Earl Haig | Tyde what may | |
| Haldane | Martin Haldane of Gleneagles | Suffer | |
| Hannay | Ramsey Hannay of Kirkdale and of that Ilk | Per ardua as alta | |
| Hay | Merlin Sereld Victor Gilbert Hay, 24th Earl of Erroll | Serva jugum | |
| Henderson | John Henderson of Fordell | Sola virtus nobilitat | |
| Hunter | Pauline Hunter of Hunterston | Cursum perficio | |
| Innes | Unknown | Be traist | |
| Irvine of Drum | David C. Irvine of Drum | Sub sole sub umbra virens | |
| Jardine | Sir Alexander Jardine of Applegarth, Bt. | Cave adsum | |
| Johnstone | Patrick Andrew Wentworth Johnstone of Annandale and of that Ilk, 11th Earl of Annandale and Hartfell | Nunquam non paratus | |
| Keith | Michael Canning William John Keith, 13th Earl of Kintore | Veritas vincit | |
| Kennedy | Archibald Angus Charles Kennedy, 8th Marquess of Ailsa | Avise la fin | |
| Kerr | Michael Andrew Foster Jude Kerr, 13th Marquess of Lothian | Sero sed serio | |
| Kincaid | Heather V Kincaid of Kincaid | This I'll defend | |
| Lamont | Peter N. Lamont of that Ilk | Ne parcas nec spernas | |
| Leask | Anne Leask of Leask | Virtute cresco | |
| Lennox | Edward J. H. Lennox of that Ilk | I'll defend | |
| Leslie | Ian Lionel Malcolm Leslie, 21st Earl of Rothes | Grip fast | |
| Lindsay | Robert Alexander Lindsay, 29th Earl of Crawford and 12th Earl of Balcarres | Endure fort | |
| Lockhart | Angus H. Lockhart of the Lee | Corda serrata pando | |
| Lumsden | Gillem Lumsden of that Ilk and Blanerne | Amor patitur moras | |
|
|
This is an Article on Scottish clans. Page Contains Information, Facts Details or Explanation Guide About Scottish clans Sources
External link
See also